Artist: The Classic Crime
Album: Vagabonds
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Reviewer: Alex Judge

The Classic Crime, a group of five from Seattle, has risen very quickly from the noise that is the American music scene and into the clearer air above all the indie wannabe’s and high school bands. With a solid sense of who they are musically, the Classic Crime has a mission to make music for the sake of music and for the sake of benefitting those who listen to the music. As a band, they do not want to bow to the industry fads, but rather make the music that they like to make. As a result, the Classic Crime is a very unique band that really has a style that can break many genre boundaries. Whether you are a rocker listening to grunge or have a milder taste more along the lines of praise and worship, TCC has something for you.

With their latest release, “Vagabonds,” TCC decided they wanted to go for simple. Musically, most of their songs use very few chords. “Perfect Voice,” in fact, uses only two chords throughout the course of the song. The song “Four Chords” accurately reflects the sentiments this reversion to simplicity in musical writing. Matt McDonald, the lead vocalist and songwriter of the group, seems to have a great appreciation for simple, yet meaningful songs. The lyrics, however, are not quite so simple, filled with metaphors and some sarcasm in songs such as “Solar Powered Life.” In the song, “The Count,” McDonald decided to experiment and throw in a bunch of different time signatures, making the title of the track very appropriate.

The album highlight is “Cheap Shots,” which addresses a Christian’s walk and the issue of the enemy always throwing our mistakes back in our face. This song presents a powerful concept backed by beautiful instrumentation and emotional harmonies. Overall, this album presents the same Classic Crime that fans have come to know and love. There’s a lot of good content for listeners of every musical taste, so give this album a listen!

On the eve of street week, The Classic Crime is gearing up to release “Vagabonds,” which media are already touting as the “perfect radio rock album,” “best album yet” and something to “get excited about.”  The Tooth & Nail Records’ band will release their third studio album “Vagabonds” next Tuesday, April 6th. Ramping up to the release date, MySpace will be hosting an album premiere listening party starting Saturday, April 3rd continuing until Monday, April 5th.  Fans can hear the album in full streaming online (http://www.myspace.com/music).

To celebrate their release next week, the band has recently launched a music video contest via their YouTube.  The Classic Crime video contest invites all fans, videographers and producers to create a music video for their song “Solar Powered Life,” which they are giving away free as a download when you sign up to enter the competition.  Entries are accepted until April 30th, when the top 3 entries will be posted on YouTube.  On May 15th, the top video with the most views will be the grand prize winner of a $1000 gift card to the Apple Store plus a TCC prize pack. The second place winner will be given a Schecter Guitar and TCC prize pack and third place will will a prize pack. For complete details on the contest and how to get the song, visit http://www.toothandnail.com/theclassiccrime/vagabonds/videocontest/ .

Supporting the upcoming release, The Classic Crime has been on the road with new label-mates Write This Down.  The band is traveling nationwide hitting Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Tennessee, Texas and more.  For current dates and cities, visit http://www.myspace.com/theclassiccrime .

Today Yahoo!'s music blog "Stop The Presses" featured the band and their efforts for Haiti. See the feature here.  In addition the Denver Post talked with the band while they are on the road, here is the feature. Check out these media tidbits that have been posted prior to the release of “Vagabonds”:
“The Classic Crime’s best album yet is both crowd-pleasing and refreshing.”
--TheAlbumProject.net

“‘Vagabonds’ comes off as a highly believable record and I applaud the band’s efforts in reaching out to capture a whole new generation of music fan.”
-- Indievisionmusic.com

“‘Vagabonds’ becomes that rare record in which you must really dig for the goodies. But trust me when I say the goodies are worth it.”
-- AbsolutePunk.net

“The Classic Crime (will) spoil you with great rock songs filled with energy...I’ll simply say that this will be one of the better albums out there this year”
--ChristianMusicZine.com

“You can get excited for another great album from The Classic Crime”
--preview from JesusFreakHideout.com


About Vagabonds & Pre-Sale Benefiting Haiti:
This third studio album, “Vagabonds,” recorded in just three weeks time, is pared down with the most basic elements mirroring The Classic Crime’s live sound. The band also hopes that their fans see what they are concerned with and that they are trying to make the world a better place. “Summing up the theme of this album, is it’s not about needing money or material things to be happy, it’s about playing music as this is what we were place on earth to do,” frontman Matt MacDonald states.

TCC left their hearts in Haiti last November on their first trip to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere visiting Bon Repos, a collection of villages in rural Haiti, with JesusInHaitiMinistries (JiHM, a non-profit) experiencing first-hand the poverty-stricken country. Upon returning from Haiti, the band set their hearts and minds to using their musical platform to do good for others.  The band’s pre-sale of their album donated all profits from the pre-sale to JiHM in Haiti. More than $4900 was raised for JiHM.  In addition to raising funds for Haiti through their album pre-sale, the band released a series of videos from their time in Haiti to show others the condition of this country prior to the earthquake.  The entire series can be found at the links below.

About The Classic Crime:
The Classic Crime isn’t limited to scenes, trends or even genres.  They hail from the rich music scene of Seattle, WA. After their debut album “Albatross,” (the largest first week sales for a new band in the label’s history) they released their sophomore album “The Silver Cord” in 2008. Touring history for the band includes Warped Tour (twice), Owl City, Relient K, MxPx, Anberlin and Emery. The Classic Crime is Matt MacDonald (vocals), Justin DuQue (guitar), Robbie Negrin (guitar), Paul “Skip” Erickson (drums) and Alan Clark (bass).

Tooth & Nail Records’ The Classic Crime left their hearts in Haiti last November on their first trip to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.  Months before the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, The Classic Crime visited Bon Repos, a collection of villages in rural Haiti, with JesusInHaitiMinistries (JiHM, a non-profit) experiencing first-hand the poverty-stricken country. Upon returning from Haiti, the band set their hearts and minds to using their musical platform to do good for others. Two months later the country was devastated by the largest earthquake in 200 years, amplifying the band’s passion to give back to Haiti.

The Classic Crime is set to release their third studio album, “Vagabonds” on Tooth & Nail Records April 6, 2010.  The band will begin a pre-sale of their album this week, donating all profits from the pre-sale to JiHM in Haiti.  Link below for pre-sale purchase.

“All profits generated from our pre-sale will go to JiHM for earthquake relief in the rural areas of Haiti,” explains Matt MacDonald, vocalist. “JiHM leader Tom is the only lifeline to thousands of Haitians in Bon Repos and surrounding villages, as food and water haven't left Port-Au-Prince in two weeks. He spends 18 hours a day with his staff of over twenty delivering water, food, and medical supplies to hundreds of people who would otherwise starve. This pre-order is designed to provide specifically for his relief efforts. It will save lives.”

In addition to raising funds for Haiti through their album pre-sale, the band will be releasing a series of videos from their time in Haiti to show others the condition of this country prior to the earthquake, which will be a reminder that this country was already in rough condition. Beginning February 1st and leading up to the release of the album, each video will be posted on The Classic Crime’s Facebook, MySpace and YouTube pages.

"JiHM is a small yet effective non-profit, made up of individuals obsessed with helping Haiti in all the right ways,” shares MacDonald. “After experiencing the mission first hand I can say that not only do I truly believe in the effectiveness of their brand of servanthood, I am blown away by the conviction of their love for the people they serve. Now with the earthquake, putting a face to the devastation, it really hits home.”

This third studio album, “Vagabonds,” recorded in just three weeks time, is pared down with the most basic elements mirroring The Classic Crime’s live sound. A band that doesn't follow musical trends that fade quickly, The Classic Crime makes music for their dedicated fanbase.  The band also hopes that their fans see what they are concerned with and that they are trying to make the world a better place.

“Summing up the theme of this album, is it’s not about needing money or material things to be happy, it’s about playing music as this is what we were place on earth to do,” MacDonald states. “After our trip to Haiti, we have a much better perspective on what we value and what we want to do with our platform.”